February is Women in Horror Month, and Portland Horror Film Festival™ is once again supporting it by waiving film submission fees for women directors all month long.

The work of women filmmakers is historically underrepresented in the horror industry. “There have always been a ton of talented women working in horror films and we’re working hard to help bring their work out into the light!” said Festival Co-Director Gwen Callahan. In 2016, only about 10% of the festival’s submissions and programming was from women directors, but in response to last year’s Women in Horror Month program, that number grew to 25%. Callahan added, “I would love to see submissions and programming consist of an equal number of projects with women and men in the director’s chair.”

In a sweeping affirmation of the impact of women in horror, avant-garde masterpiece LILITH'S AWAKENING, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Monica Demes, won the festival’s top award in 2017, the coveted Goule D’Or. The film also caught the eye of audience member Brian Trenchard-Smith, director of cult classic DEAD END DRIVE-IN. He remarked that the first-time director is a real talent and went on to say that “Lilith's Awakening avoids gore in favor of a measured build up of creepy unsettling moments, anchored at its core by a remarkable screen debut performance by Sophia Woodward.”

Women directors are invited to submit their horror films (both feature-length and short) for FREE during the month of February on FilmFreeway. No coupon or waiver code is needed, just submit in the Women in Horror category for short films or feature films.

Women in Horror Month (WiHM) is an international, grassroots initiative, which encourages supporters to learn about and showcase the underrepresented work of women in the horror industries. Whether they are on the screen, behind the scenes, or contributing in other various artistic ways, it is clear that women love, appreciate, and contribute to the horror genre.

Portland Horror Film Festival will take place June 13-16th at the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon (4122 NE Sandy Blvd). With the goal of promoting and nurturing independent horror film, it is the first dedicated all-genre international horror film festival in Portland. Film programming is comprised of independent short and feature length horror films from around the world, many of which you can’t see on the big screen anywhere else.